


Dance With Me

by QueenNeehola



Category: Karneval
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:37:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4033771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenNeehola/pseuds/QueenNeehola
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The masquerade ball had been Yogi’s idea, in truth, and swiftly seconded by Iva.  A considerable varuga threat had been thwarted on the outskirts of the city through the joint efforts of the first and second airships, and Yogi had suggested the ball as Circus’ way to thank the citizens for their cooperation.  (And, to be honest, Hirato was quite taken with the idea as well.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance With Me

“I can see him now,” Tsukitachi laughed, “standing in a corner with his usual face on, scaring away all the girls.  He’d have them all flocking to him if only he’d smile for a change.”

Beside him, Hirato smirked.  “He has no need to attract women.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”  Shedding his top hat, Tsukitachi produced a shining golden masquerade mask from somewhere within his jacket and fixed it over his eyes, tucking the elastic string behind his ears.  It was a fairly thin thing, more pattern than actual substance, and accentuated his features rather than disguised them.  Which was, Hirato supposed as he regarded his friend, much more Tsukitachi’s style than his own elaborate mask, which he fastened on with a thin black ribbon.

“I’m surprised he agreed to be your date,” Tsukitachi continued.

Hirato’s only reply was a sly smile that clearly stated, _I’m not_.

 

* * *

 

 

 They stepped out of the private changing room to cheering and applause that echoed the length and breadth of the grand hall.  Every person that turned towards them was dressed elegantly, from pressed suits of perfect cuts and subtle colours to giant meringue dresses that started red at one end and gradated flawlessly through the entire rainbow spectrum until it reached violet at the other.  And upon all of their noses sat masks.

 

The masquerade ball had been Yogi’s idea, in truth, and swiftly seconded by Iva.  A considerable varuga threat had been thwarted on the outskirts of the city through the joint efforts of the first and second airships, and Yogi had suggested the ball as Circus’ way to thank the citizens for their cooperation.  (And, to be honest, Hirato was quite taken with the idea as well.)

 

* * *

 

 

“Told you,” Tsukitachi leaned over to mutter into Hirato’s ear, in between smiling at and complimenting the girls he already had on each arm.  “There he is, in the corner.”

Hirato, surrounded by his own flock of gushing females, looked up.  As if homing in, his gaze automatically cut across the room to where Tsukitachi gestured, locking on to a lone figure in a white suit with a white mask.

Hirato quietly and professionally extracted himself from the gaggle of girls and made a beeline for the figure.  Tsukitachi grinned.

 

* * *

 

 

“Would it not be best to perhaps smile, Akari-san?”  Hirato’s honeyed voice slipped into Akari’s ear and the older man startled, though he had seen the black-clad figure approaching.  “I’m afraid you may be scaring the female guests away.”

“I have no need to cater to women,” Akari replied sourly.  Hirato smiled to himself, and regarded Akari’s mask up close – it was a simple, white affair, with a cluster of pearl and diamond-like gems scattered around one of the eyes and over the bridge of the nose.  It suited him perfectly.

“What is it?” Akari snapped, eyeing Hirato warily.

“Nothing,” the man in question replied, straightening up.  “I was merely admiring your choice of mask.”

“Hmph,” was all Akari said, and then after a few moments, “yours is revoltingly flashy.”

“I thought you might say that.”  Hirato raised a hand to adjust his mask slightly.  It was a deep, elegant purple with glittering black embellishments, and the right side over the eye was an extravagant butterfly wing, crafted of black lace with purple detailing.

 

On the far side of the hall from where they stood, the hired band began to play a slow waltz.  Hirato bowed slightly and extended a hand to Akari.  “Would you honour me with my first dance of the evening, Akari-san?”

Akari scowled, hesitated for a moment, and took his hand.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _There_ you are!”

Jiki turned, drink in hand, and had the person before him been wearing a more concealing mask, the shit-eating grin spread across their face would have still given away their identity.  “Oh, Tsukitachi-san,” Jiki monotoned.  “Finally managed to pull yourself away from your crowd of adoring fans?”

“Oh, you saw that?”  Tsukitachi started to laugh, before he noticed Jiki’s expression hadn’t shifted.  “…What’s wrong with you?  Tsukumo turn you down when you asked her to dance?”

Jiki visibly flinched.  _Ah.  Bingo_.

“She said she had to help Kiicchan keep Nai amused while Yogi-kun danced with Gareki-kun,” he ground out, sullenly clutching his glass tighter.

“I’ll dance with you,” Tsukitachi said, without pause.

It took Jiki a few moments to process his captain’s words, and when he did, he blinked up at Tsukitachi through his mask, wearing a crooked smile as though to say, surely he had heard wrong?  “W-What?”

“I’ll dance with you,” Tsukitachi repeated, in the same tone.  “C’mon!”

He took Jiki’s drink, downed it in one, and placed it on the corner of a table to their left.  Jiki spluttered half-formed protests as the red-headed captain grabbed his hands and dragged him into the centre of the dancing masses, but they fell on deaf ears, and soon he and Tsukitachi were spinning in not-quite-perfect sync to a waltz that wasn’t really to either of their tastes.

 

* * *

 

 

“See?  _They’re_ enjoying themselves,” Hirato pointed out, gesturing with his chin at where Tsukitachi and Jiki had just stumbled into the circle.

Akari frowned, pressing his thumb into Hirato’s shoulder.  “Tsukitachi could enjoy himself at a funeral as long as there was alcohol present.”

Hirato chuckled, a quiet rumbling thing in his throat, and Akari was suddenly acutely aware of their close proximity and Hirato’s hand on his waist.  He swallowed, and Hirato noticed, because _of course he did_ , and leaned in a fraction, still keeping perfect time with the music and sweeping his dancing partner around in an elegant turn.  Both were silent for a few long notes, never breaking eye contact all the while, Hirato’s eyes framed in black and Akari’s, white.

“You must be breaking several hearts, dancing with me,” Akari eventually said, eyes sliding off down Hirato’s jaw—his dark gaze was a little too intense to hold any longer.  “I’m sure there’s a substantial queue of women who would have been eager to offer.”

“In the words of a fine doctor in a white mask, ‘I have no need to cater to women’,” Hirato said, never missing a beat, and the corners of Akari’s mouth turned up an almost imperceptible amount before he could stop himself.

 

In that moment, Hirato moved his hand from Akari’s waist to the small of his back, pulled him closer, leaned in further, and kissed him.

 

He was gone again before Akari could react, his fingers ghosting about Akari’s hip again, but a small smug smile stretched across his lips as the doctor flushed crimson beneath his mask.

“W-What was that for!?” Akari hissed.  “In the middle of everything as well, I hope no one saw that—”

“You finally smiled,” was Hirato’s reply.

 

* * *

 

 

“This is ridiculous,” Jiki groaned.  “And why are you leading?”

Tsukitachi laughed.  “I’m taller,” he replied, to which Jiki just scowled.  By now, the music had changed to a slightly more upbeat number, and Hirato and Akari, whom Tsukitachi had been observing from the corner of his eye, had disappeared, no doubt to somewhere more private.  “Besides, look at us, we match!”

It was true, Jiki had to admit – Tsukitachi’s understated gold mask went well with his own chosen piece, which was a deep green with gold trimming, and golden vine detailing over the face.  The left side extended upwards into two curved points, giving an air of fanciness that contrasted Tsukitachi’s mask’s subtlety.

“I guess we do,” Jiki agreed, reluctantly.

“And your mask brings out your eyes,” Tsukitachi added.

Jiki fell awkwardly silent at his captain’s comment, and he wasn’t really sure why he could feel heat blossoming over his cheeks and nose, but there it was, and he couldn’t quite make it go away.  He was just thankful his mask hid most of it.

“You’re blushing,” Tsukitachi said.

“I’m not.”

“You are!  You’re embarrassed.”

“I’m _not_.”

“I bet you’re glad you danced with me instead of Tsukumo now.”

“I’m _not_!”

Tsukitachi laughed.  Jiki stepped on his foot.

**Author's Note:**

> hirato's mask: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C1XU80uqL._SY300_.jpg  
> akari's mask: http://masqueboutique.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Petite-White-Masquerade-Mask-with-swarovski-pearls-crystals-1a.jpg  
> tsukitachi's mask: http://www.hjolycka.com/shop/19116/art16/h1234/19761234-origpic-9a647d.jpg  
> jiki's mask: http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s261/divaangela1765/Masquerade%20Masks/100_4881_zpsf059b7fa.jpg
> 
> sorry, i just really wanted to write some self-indulgent hirakari and tsukijiki. ALSO, more people should ship tsukijiki. burn with me in this hell
> 
> i GUESS hirato is wearing contacts in this because how do you glasses and mask


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